Busch Gardens and Seaworld, Florida 🇺🇸

Part of my Real Florida Guide

You don’t have to stick to the Orlando area to find the best parks in Florida! Busch Gardens in Tampa really is the one to visit if you want to ride the biggest and best coasters that the Sunshine State has to offer.

Busch Gardens

Busch Gardens is around an hour and a half drive west of Orlando, in the city of Tampa. Like its sister park, Seaworld, it combines thrilling rollercoasters with exotic animals.

Let’s start with the rollercoasters, first. ‘Sheikra’ elevates you 200 feet up into the sky before dangling you over the edge of a 90 degree drop – holding you there for a prolonged wait to up the anticipation! Throw in some loop-the-loops and a splash zone and you have yourself a pretty decent ride. Best seats are on the front row for this one.

Busch also has ‘Cheetah Hunt’, another excellent rollercoaster – this one dedicated to the fastest land animal on the planet. With plenty of snaking, twisting and full speed surges, this is super fast (as proven by my boyfriend whose baseball cap flew off into the abyss). Cheetah Hunt is currently the longest ride in the state of Florida, measuring a whopping 4,400 feet long. Front or back seats are equally good for this ride; ride upfront for the best take off (there’s no slow introduction here!) or ride at the back to feel the full pull of the g-force. Hell, do them both….twice over!

The fun doesn’t stop there! Thrill seekers will also love ‘Montu’ with its inverted loops and ‘Falcons Fury’, designed to mimic a free fall skydive. There are currently around nine rollercoasters in total, plus water rides – because you can’t do a park without getting wet, now can you?

So now for the animals. At Busch you will find two and four-legged beasts of all shapes and sizes, from hippo’s and kangaroos, to tigers, komodo dragons and elephants. It’s a like Noah’s Ark, minus the floods (usually). Great fun kids and us big kids.

Tip: This is how we ‘attack’ Busch Gardens: Arrive early before the gates open, do all of the coasters first before the queues get too big and then repeat a loop of the park at a slower pace, visiting the animals. Works perfectly every time.

Seaworld

Seaworld is the second big park in the Busch empire, so if you buy one ticket, you usually get the other park thrown in too. Like Busch Gardens, the park is split into two distinct parts – the coasters and the (in this case, marine) animals – both of which are on a smaller scale than their sister park.

It’s known worldwide for the long-standing Shamu show which has been subject to much controversy over the years for keeping their killer whales in captivity. Despite this, the park owners say that Seaworld is dedicated to increasing habitat protection and supporting wildlife researchin a safe environment. So, really, it’s up to you if you want to put money into this park or not.

I’ll say right here that we have visited Seaworld a lot over the years, but never since watching ‘Blackfish’ on Netflix.

It’s a personal choice, but if you do want to visit, there are more great coasters to try. Take ‘Kraken’ for example – almost 20 years old but still rocking it in the rollercoaster world! This ride twists you, jerks you, turns you and throws you upside down repeatedly until you either feel physically sick or itching to ride again. Best ride is at the front, but expect a substantially longer queue wait for these ‘premium’ seats.

‘Manta’ is another showstopper. It flips you up onto your front so that you’re facing forwards head first, the idea being that you are a giant stingray souring through the sea.

Mako’ is the newest thrill ride on offer at Seaworld, bound to impress even the most seasoned coaster-riders – and ‘Infinity Falls’ is the latest token river rapid water ride that soaks you! Best leave that one until last.

Tip: Although Seaworld has an ‘up close encounter’ with dolphins, you can’t swim with them at the park. If doing so has been a lifelong dream, you can nip down the road to Discovery Cove. Be warned, this is expensive (around $300 for a day pass) but for that, you will get your swim with Flipper, a photograph to prove you did it, access to an on-site beach complete with hammocks – and all you can eat and drink throughout the day.

Ticket prices

Like all Florida parks, unless you want to pay over the odds at the gate, you will get best value out of buying a Seaworld/ Busch Gardens combo ticket. This will set you back around £180 (give or take) for a 14-day pass. They do 7-day passes, but unsurprisingly, they cost the same as the 14-day pass. Not quite the bargain they would have you believe – but that’s just the way it is in Orlando because the majority of visitors are families with kids.